Guadalupe Reservoir, California
April, 2013
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April is a beautiful month to be working in Santa Clara, California -- the mornings are chilly, but it generally warms up in the afternoons, and everything is lush and green!
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| We were enamored with our accomoadtions at the Pruneyard Plaza Hotel in Campbell, California (recently converted to a Double Tree Inn). In particular, the fact that our rooms were right in front of the pool and hot tub! Being located close to San Jose, the Santa Clara Mountains, and our job site was great, but it's proximity to numerous restaurants and shops was invaluable.....
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That brings us to The Pruneyard (www.pruneyard.com), where we could walk every evening to dinner, and potentially not eat at the same establishment twice. There is a huge variety of shops, stores, entertainment and restaurants located at The Pruneyard -- here are just a few that we frequented...
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Cafe Artemis is a Mediterranean restaurant with Turkish-Greek cuisine -- what a treat for our tastebuds! Outstanding and unusual menu with great service and amazing food!
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| Bucca di Beppo is a large Italian family-style restaurant. You could be entertained for hours with the massive collection of photos which adorn the walls of the numerous dining rooms. Our first meal here was unforgettable! Unfortunately, the service was lacking the second time we went...
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| Who can pass up authentic Chicago-style deep-dish and thin-crust pizza? Patxi's Chicago Pizza is an award-winning restaurant with over 30 meat and veggie toppings to choose from -- enough said!
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The Pacific Catch is "a West coast fish house defining the tastes of the Pacific" -- and it certainly lived up to it's mission statement!
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| We happened upon Tessora's Barra di Vino one night, and were thrilled with the live Blues group playing and the well-prepared small plate appetizers that accompanied our wine!
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| We even ventured into downtown Campbell one evening to join some of the folks from the Santa Clara Valley Water District at the Sonoma Chicken Coop Restaurant and Brewery--what a fun night of dancing!
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That's probably enough about food....we had to find some ways to work it off! Hiking, mountain biking, and prospecting for gold were tops on the agenda....
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The Guadalupe Reservoir where we were working was also home to the Almaden Quicksilver County Park, which had an extensive and frequently used hiking trail.
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Big Basin Redwoods State Park is spectacular!! This is California's oldest state park, and was established in 1902. BBRSP is home to the largest continuous stand of ancient coast Redwoods south of San Francisco.
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A couple of us did a 10+ mile hike here. BBRSW encompasses 18,000 acres and 80 miles of trails.
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These silent giants are always humbling and awe-inspiring!
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Beautiful weather for gold prospecting in Sonora, California -- located in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Hard work pays off (in gold)...
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Some thrill-seekers got to do some mountain biking through the Redwoods too!
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We were dismayed, yet intrigued by the constant graffiti that seemed to evolve at the work site every day...
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And we were thrilled when it finally got warm enough to wear our Utilikilts to work (www.utilikilts.com)!
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Our last day in California followed the usual routine -- put boats in storage, prepare the freight for shipping back to Tennessee, and the return of multiple rental vehicles. When all was said and done, we were catching a red-eye flight back east, so we had the aftenoon free for exploring food, wine and the coast!
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